The best time to visit Florida? Surely it’s July, right? Or August? Okay, not so much, but when my sister spent weeks in a Florida hospital (near where she lives) this past summer, my other sister (who lives near me), her hubby, and I flew kitty-corner across the continent to visit for three days to […]

It’s hard to believe this is already the last Sunday in September! We’ve definitely settled into a school year routine here at our house. Hopefully, you’re hitting that fall (or spring) stride as well. The leaves in our yard are starting to turn gold and bright red. A few have decided to fall when the […]

Anyone else excited about the official start of fall (or spring) this week? Our temperatures have started to shift into cooler mornings and days that are not quite as brutal. I know we’ll get another hit of summer heat before too long (I’m guessing we don’t call it Indian Summer anymore, but I don’t know […]

Even though I chose a fun school-themed image for this week, I feel like it’s worth taking a moment to remember 9/11/2001. It stands, for me at least, as a notable point in history that I’m unlikely to forget, joining in my memories the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion, and the fall of the Berlin Wall […]

Happy September! Maybe it’s because I’ve always loved school (hello, nerd!) but September always makes me think of school. And even better, school supplies. This past week, my hoarding of school supplies came in handy as my eldest, starting his first year of high school, was struggling to keep his notes organized with his various classes. […]

Spring is around the corner in Australia, and the streets in my neighborhood are a sea of yellow. The native Australian wattle is a hardy plant with many varieties that never fails to bloom in August, and again in late summer. Those of us who suffer from hay fever don’t need to look outside to […]

  It’s winter in Australia, and I’ve been dreaming about walking on a warm, sandy beach somewhere. My long ebook TBR list includes many beach reads with coastal and lake settings from around the world. The advantages of arm chair traveling via a book include no messy sand to clean up, no sunburn to worry […]

Happy Sunday! A highlight of the last few weeks, for those of us who are into sports and live in Commonwealth countries (like Australia), has been the Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, UK. The time differences between Australia and UK resulted in most of the live action taking place overnight and in the early hours […]

Welcome to August! I will confess I’m happy to put July in the rearview mirror. I hope those of you in the Northern Hemisphere are enjoying your summer, and staying cool if you’re dealing with extreme heat. My family spent July tag-teaming the catching of winter illnesses, including the one with cold symptoms that we […]

One evening in late June, Jim and I enjoyed a special little excursion in our kayaks. You may have heard me mention (possibly endlessly…) how cold and wet this spring was! The water level of our lake has been fairly high as a result, and a place where we often hike in the cooler months […]